Metal Mouth Message Board

I cannot believe this actually happened. After all the speech problems and re-considering linguals all together, a bracket has fallen off today and I've eaten it. It was the one on the very back molar and now there is just a 1 cm wire sticking out from the second-last-molar to where the bracket used to be holding the end of the wire on the last molar.

I was eating soup (of all things!) and felt something sharp just as I was about to swallow it. Too late - I ate it! Fortunately, because of the soup, it didn't get stuck in my throat and I didn't choke.

Did anybody else eat a fixture??? I'm going to see my ortho as soon as I can next week but what do I do in the meantime?

Yuck!
Wax wax and more wax (or more to the point sillicone) to cover the wire and if it's really painful then call your ortho's emergency number.
I have swallowed a bit of my brace but not a bracket thank goodness.

Hi, Just want to add here you are not alone...i've swallowed a bracket twice and in both cases it was the same bracket on the most back molar...

The second time it happenned i just couldnt find time to go immediately back to the ortho so i waited it out for my second adjustment appoinment which was about 2.5 weeks after i swallowed it. The wires did cause problems for the first 2 days, but after that i got used to the wires sticking out without having to use any wax...

As long as you have swallowed it (into your stomach) rather than aspirated (into your lungs), you shouldn't have any issues. When it goes in through the digestive system, it usually passes out with your stools.

If you develop severe fatigue and difficulty breathing, please make sure you go to the hospital as this may be a sign of the braces in the respiratory passage.

The eaten bracket caused no problems, thank God. I was a little freaked out but my ortho said it happens. I guess there are a few of us out there.

I put a lot of wax on the poking wire until I was able to get an appointment. I was terrified to brush my teeth so that I would not bend the wire and be really 'out of service'. That was probably the biggest undertaking to continue brushing for those few days.

Now the wire has been cut at what used to be the second last bracket, which has now become my last one. So, good result overall - fewer brackets in my mouth to cause trouble. Thanks to everyone for your advice!

i joined this club today!